Lapdancing clubs have been set up by schools, minister admits

Lapdancing clubs have been set up next to schools and other "inappropriate" sites, a minister admitted as he unveiled plans to cut their number.

By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor

6:08PM GMT 18 Dec 2008

Local councils and the public will have more power to stop the clubs opening in their towns and cities while existing venues will have to apply for new licences.

Those in unwelcome sites are likely to then have their new applications rejected and will have to close down.

Police minister Vernon Coaker admitted some had opened by schools and other sites as he launched the new Crime and Policing Bill, which will give councils wider reasons to reject applications.

The number of lap-dancing clubs in England and Wales has doubled since 2004 to around 300 after they fell under the Licensing Act 2003.

It meant councils could not stop an application purely because there were others already open in an area and could only close them down if they created problems or disorder or safety.

But the new Bill will move new lap-dancing clubs on to the same regulations as those governing sex shops and cinemas showing explicit films.

Councils will be able to object if they think there are too many and will be able to charge higher fees for licences.

Mr Coaker said he expected the number of clubs to fall as a result.

He said allowing the clubs was not a "moral" question but it was important they were not operating in the wrong places.

"It's not for Government to say there should be 400 or 100 or 200. Our responsibility is to ensure that people have the right to influence whether a licence is granted," he said.

"The intention of the Bill is to ensure that people have a better choice about where lap-dancing establishments are sited."

The Bill is also set to massively increase the number of airports who have to pay local police forces for security sparking fears passengers will face yet more price hikes.

Currently, the nine main airports in the UK pay up to £80 million in policing fees but plans to extend the requirement to up to 62 airports would see the annual bill rise by up to £17 million.

Airport operators warned those costs would be passed on to airliners who, in turn, may look to pass them on to passengers. Or airliners could refuse to pay and threaten to take their business elsewhere.

The Bill will also introduce the power to impose a mandatory code on the alcohol retail trade that could lead to certain promotions, such as multi-buy discounts and all you can drink offers, being banned.

A new law making it an offence to pay for sex with a woman who is under the control of another, such as a pimp or trafficker, will also be introduced.

But plans to allow direct elections for police authorities have been dropped from the legislation after Home Secretary Jacqui Smith made an eleventh hour U-turn.

She sparked a furious row after seeking to blame the Conservatives for the move after fuelling concerns over politicisation of the police in the wake of Sir Ian Blair's resignation as Met Commissioner and the arrest of shadow immigration minister Damian Green.